What happens when a practicing physician steps into the world of employee benefits?

In this episode of Broken Benefits, Lee Lewis sits down with Dr. Lowell Fernander, a physician-turned-benefits executive whose career has taken him from healthcare systems in the United Kingdom and Europe to helping lead healthcare strategy for one of America's largest employers.

Drawing on his unique experience in clinical medicine, health informatics, provider strategy, and benefits leadership, Dr. Fernander offers a rare perspective on the challenges facing healthcare today. From the philosophical differences between healthcare systems around the world to the realities of employer-sponsored healthcare in the United States, this conversation explores what employers can learn from global approaches to care delivery.

Along the way, Dr. Fernander shares why benefits leaders have an enormous responsibility in shaping healthcare outcomes, how data can uncover opportunities for better care, and why collaboration across the healthcare ecosystem is essential if we hope to improve outcomes while controlling costs.

If you're an employer, benefits professional, healthcare leader, or simply interested in the future of healthcare, this is a conversation you won't want to miss.

Chapters:

0:00 Every Healthcare System Has Problems

0:28 Welcome to Broken Benefits

1:25 How a Physician Ended Up Leading Benefits Strategy

4:28 What America Can Learn from European Healthcare

8:02 Is Healthcare a Right or a Privilege?

10:42 Why the U.S. Healthcare Debate Misses the Point

13:00 The Real Problem: Access to Care

17:03 Healthcare Deserts and the Hidden Cost of Poor Access

21:03 Employers Shape Healthcare More Than They Realize

25:03 Why Data Is the Foundation of Better Benefits

29:00 Looking Beyond Cost Savings

33:00 The Employee Engagement Problem

37:00 Building Better Healthcare Experiences

40:00 The Impact of Social Determinants of Health

44:00 Why Healthcare Is an Ecosystem Challenge

48:02 Where Employer Healthcare Goes Next

50:06 Closing Thoughts

What happens when you put an auditor in charge of employee benefits?

You stop accepting assumptions.

In this episode of Broken Benefits, Brian Duclos shares how a non-traditional background in accounting and internal audit shaped his approach to benefits strategy—and ultimately led him to challenge many of the industry's long-standing norms.

Rather than accepting annual cost increases as inevitable, Brian applies financial discipline, operational rigor, and data-driven decision-making to one of the largest expense categories organizations face. The result has been a series of innovative plan design strategies, stronger vendor accountability, and a fundamentally different way of thinking about benefits management.

This conversation explores the importance of data ownership, performance guarantees, vendor oversight, and why benefits leaders should start thinking more like business operators.

If you're responsible for managing healthcare costs, improving employee outcomes, or driving value from your benefits program, this episode offers a practical blueprint for doing things differently.

Chapters:

00:00 The Audit That Changed Everything

00:26 Introduction to Brian Duclos

01:16 From Accounting to Benefits Leadership

04:16 Why Brian Left Internal Audit to Fix Benefits

08:09 The Advantage of a Non-Traditional Background

11:05 Challenging Industry Assumptions

14:09 A Case Study in Benefits Innovation

18:13 Why Operational Excellence Matters

20:34 Building Innovative Benefits Strategies

21:53 Start with the Data

24:01 Turning Insights into Action

25:36 Getting Team Buy-In for Change

29:13 Psychological Safety and Innovation

30:12 How to Sell New Ideas to Leadership

33:00 Building the Executive Business Case

34:56 Vendor Accountability and Performance Guarantees

38:00 Finding Hidden Costs in Your Health Plan

39:53 Following the Data to Better Outcomes

43:10 Eliminating Misaligned Incentives in Healthcare

45:12 Contracting, Transparency, and Employer Leverage

47:42 Choosing the Right Advisors and Partners

49:36 What Industry Conferences Actually Teach You

51:33 The Traits of Successful Benefits Leaders

53:15 Brian's Framework for Driving Change

55:10 Final Advice for Benefits Professionals

56:49 Closing Thoughts

In this episode of Broken Benefits, we’re joined by Chris Deacon, a leading voice in healthcare reform known for her direct, no-nonsense approach to fixing a system that too often fails the very people it’s meant to serve.

With experience spanning both the public and private sectors—including leading one of the largest public health plans in the country—Chris brings a level of insight that few can match. Her work has consistently centered on one thing: demanding transparency, accountability, and real outcomes in healthcare.

This conversation takes a hard look at the current state of the system, the structural issues that continue to drive inefficiency, and the opportunity employers have to take a more active role in shaping better solutions.

If you’re tired of excuses and ready to think differently about healthcare and benefits, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

Chapters:

0:00 - Introduction

1:45 - Change is accelerating

5:58 - Tactical approaches in 2026

14:06 - How do we push back?

20:18 - Examining high-cost claims

26:02 - Fiduciary obligation to shareholders

37:53 - Cleaning up messes vs. new things

44:13 - What can I do right now?

48:10 - Connect with Chris online

In this episode of Broken Benefits, we sit down with Milt Ezzard, a Global Benefits and Mobility Leader, to explore the untapped opportunity that exists within today’s benefits and healthcare landscape.

Too often, organizations operate within the confines of legacy systems and outdated thinking. But as Milt shares, those willing to challenge the status quo have a real chance to unlock better outcomes—for their people and their business.

From global strategy to forward-thinking program design, this conversation dives into what it takes to move beyond maintenance mode and start building benefits strategies that truly create value.

If you’re a leader looking to rethink your approach and capitalize on the opportunity in front of you, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

Chapters:

0:00 - Introduction

1:47 - Being hesitant to try something new

8:25 - Best practices for Milt

16:20 - Getting back your control

30:13 - Holding vendors accountable

40:30 - Approaching AI products 

46:32 - Building benefits that are loved

51:21 - Leveraging Glassdoor

53:26 - Closing remarks

In this episode of Broken Benefits, Lee Lewis sits down with Todd Bisping, Benefits Industry Innovator, to explore one of the most remarkable stories in employer healthcare strategy.

For nearly two decades, Todd helped lead a benefits approach that achieved something most employers consider impossible: keeping healthcare cost trend flat while continuing to deliver meaningful value to employees.

Rather than accepting the steady rise of healthcare costs as inevitable, Todd and his team took a different path — experimenting with new ideas, challenging industry assumptions, and focusing relentlessly on strategies that produced measurable results.

In this conversation, Todd reflects on the lessons learned from years of leading benefits innovation, what it takes to implement change inside large organizations, and why employers have far more influence over healthcare outcomes than they often realize.

If you’re a CHRO, benefits leader, or HR executive looking for real-world examples of what disciplined, long-term benefits strategy can accomplish, this episode offers both inspiration and practical insight.

Chapters:

0:00 - Introduction

1:27 - The best part about running benefits plans

8:59 - The misconception of innovating

19:14 - Leveraging case studies

32:32 - Irrelevant strategies employers need to stop

43:40 - Guiding your priorities

50:50 - The value of pilot programs

54:30 - Closing remarks

On the latest installment of Broken Benefits, Lee Lewis sits down with Jason Dinerman, VP of Product Development & Global Benefits at Mastercard, to explore what it really takes to create value — and just as importantly, visibility — inside a modern benefits operation.

Jason brings a rare blend of product thinking and global benefits leadership to the conversation. Drawing from his career journey, he shares how benefits leaders can move beyond administration and into strategic influence by clearly articulating impact, aligning with business priorities, and designing programs that are measurable, scalable, and understood.

The discussion dives into how benefits teams can reposition themselves internally — not as cost centers, but as value creators. Jason explains how applying product development principles to benefits strategy can unlock stronger engagement, clearer outcomes, and greater executive buy-in.

If you’re a CHRO, total rewards leader, or HR executive looking to elevate the strategic role of benefits within your organization, this episode offers a practical and forward-looking perspective on how to do it.

Chapters:

0:00 - Introduction

1:37 - Leading US Health & Well-Being at Mastercard

9:38 - The talent overlap between product development and benefits

17:14 - Designing benefits that people ultimately value

25:08 - Advice for today's benefits leaders

33:32 - Look inward for the most valuable data

39:00 - The future of transactions within healthcare

44:44 - How to connect with Jason

45:00 - Closing remarks

In this episode of Broken Benefits, host Lee Lewis is joined by Matt Eurey, former Benefits Executive at Lowe’s and Time Warner Cable, for a wide-ranging conversation grounded in real-world experience managing benefits at scale.

Matt brings a pragmatic lens to the challenges employers face as buyers in a healthcare system crowded with vendors, competing ideas, and constant pressure to “do something new.” Drawing on decades of leadership, he breaks down how organizations tend to approach innovation, why most employers fall into predictable patterns, and what it actually takes to move from reactive decision-making to thoughtful, long-term strategy.

The discussion explores how benefits leaders evaluate risk, filter noise, and balance innovation with operational reality — especially inside large, complex organizations. Rather than chasing trends, Matt emphasizes the importance of clarity, discipline, and understanding where your organization truly sits on the adoption curve.

This episode is especially relevant for benefits leaders, HR executives, and employers who want a more grounded perspective on what works, what doesn’t, and how to lead through complexity without losing sight of the people behind the plan.

Chapters:

0:00 - Introduction

2:04 - Matt's background and path into corporate benefits

7:15 - Is the reward worth the risk?

14:10 - Cutting your losses

24:19 - Be a strategic partner and work collaboratively

32:16 - Designing benefits that people love

42:04 - Managing disruption among your members

49:00 - Closing remarks

In this episode of Broken Benefits, host Lee Lewis sits down with Neil Larson, Benefits Leader at a Global 500 employer and MIT MBA, for a candid conversation about risk, responsibility, and what it truly takes to change a healthcare benefits system that isn’t working.

Drawing from his experience managing a massive, diverse health plan, Neil shares what benefits leadership looks like in the trenches — where decisions carry financial, operational, and human consequences. The discussion explores why incremental change often isn’t enough, how misaligned incentives quietly drive costs higher, and why taking calculated risks is sometimes the only path to sustainability.

Together, Lee and Neil unpack what employers often misunderstand about risk tolerance, consulting relationships, and implementation realities — and why meaningful progress requires leaders who are willing to step off the paved road, ask harder questions, and demand better alignment from their partners.

This episode is a must-listen for benefits leaders, HR professionals, and executives navigating rising healthcare costs while trying to protect both their people and their organizations.

Chapters:

0:00 - Introduction

3:38 - Big risks that paid off in Neil's career

12:54 - Getting your risky strategy approved

27:20 - "What's the job to be done?"

36:15 - Identifying crisp and clear KPI's

48:13 - What vendors and consultants don't understand

51:05 - Closing remarks

In this episode of Broken Benefits, Global CHRO Thomas Plath joins the show to confront one of the most overlooked — yet most consequential — challenges facing employers today: the true complexity of healthcare and the enormous responsibility placed on HR leaders to navigate it.

Thomas shares a candid look at what it feels like to inherit a benefits ecosystem that can represent hundreds of millions of dollars in spend, yet remains confusing, fragmented, and structurally misaligned with employee outcomes. His journey from “intimidation” to clarity offers a window into the broader awakening happening inside the C-suite as executives realize how deeply healthcare impacts culture, productivity, and long-term organizational strategy.

With perspective shaped by global leadership, Thomas explores why employers must shift from passive purchasers to active stewards of care — and why adopting a new playbook is no longer optional. If you’re a CHRO, benefits leader, or executive wrestling with rising costs, broken systems, and pressure to drive better outcomes, this conversation delivers the insight you’ve been waiting for.

Chapters:

0:00 - Introduction

2:10 - Healthcare benefits are complex. Plain and simple.

7:22 - What separates healthcare from other industries

16:20 - Supply chain reform efforts

27:11 - Using savings to directly benefit the rest of your organization

36:55 - Creating importance behind the incentive structure

44:48 - Using outside sources and independent parties

50:02 - The biggest risks on the horizon

57:30 - Closing remarks

In this second installment of our two-part conversation, Rich Krutsch returns to Broken Benefits to expand on the evolving relationship between employee health, organizational strategy, and the growing shift toward more hands-on approaches to managing benefits.

Building on the foundation of Part 1, this episode explores how leaders can think more holistically about the connection between their workforce, their data, and the long-term direction of their benefits programs. Rich discusses how organizations can move toward models that offer greater clarity, more control, and deeper alignment with their people.

Whether you’re a CHRO, benefits leader, or HR professional navigating the rapidly changing world of workforce well-being, this episode offers valuable perspective on where the industry is headed — and how employers can position themselves for what comes next.

Chapters:

0:00 - Introduction

0:44 - Why should someone consider self-administration

6:53 - Focus on the specific problem you're trying to solve

16:50 - Areas of major friction and blindspots

25:10 - The moments that matter in an employee life cycle

31:15 - Follow the language of your business

32:35 - Closing remarks